This is the latest report of many this year, in Energy Voice, pointing to dramatic rises in oil prices in the next year or so with several now suggesting a return to greater than £100 dollar per barrel. See this from only six days ago:
Is a third forecast that Scotland’s oil will hit $100 per barrel again, a sure sign?
Here’s what Energy Voice had to say today:
‘The enthusiasm in the oil markets is breaking records. Hedge funds reported record wagers on continued price increases for both U.S. and global oil benchmarks, along with gasoline and diesel. Meanwhile, producers are hedging production at record rates as oil experiences its best January since 2006.’
The enthusiasm is underpinned by earlier reports of massive increases in demand from Asia, OPEC discipline on pricing and emerging shortages of supply, leading to four predictions from industry chiefs and economic bodies of prices rising above £100 per barrel in the months to come. With the BP chief predicting costs to fall as low as $12 per barrel, the scope for revenue gathering by an independent Scotland could be immense, in the two or three decades before peak oil. See:
Is Peak Oil still 20 or 30 years in the future and so, would an independent Scotland be rich?
Returning to the investors, the Energy Voice piece reports:
‘Another significant sign the oil crash is behind us, is the clear shift in the futures curve. Both in New York and London, the closer the delivery, the higher the price all the way through 2022. That pattern, known as backwardation, is typical of times when demand is rising, and supplies are tightening, and it hadn’t been so marked since 2014.’
https://www.energyvoice.com/marketinfo/162117/oil-unstoppable-hedge-funds-take-bets-new-high/
I know oil revenue cannot be the central strand in the Indyref2 campaign but, equally, it cannot now be used by Unionists to weaken it.
Note also:
Sterling’s surge is being fueled by oil, not a Brexit bounce
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/01/27/sterlings-surge-fueled-oil-not-brexit-bounce/
John, the New York Times is reporting a resurgence in US oil production, with a record output of 10million barrels a day this year—more than Saudi and on a par with Russia.
The future? I haven’t a clue, but with petrol vehicles on a decline then it would need cuts from OPEC to keep prices high.
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Thanks Gavin. Who to believe?
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Telegraph; “Sterling surge is being fuelled by oil and not Brexit bounce”. This, of course, is the reason the unionists want Scotland to remain part of the UK. The Telegraph, of course, would never admit this because, to them it is England’s oil. And, if we (wee?)Jocks were to demand independence, of course, we would be told that oil prices are going through the floor and, everybody knows – don’t they? – that oil is all Scotland has and we are simply not good enough to manage it.
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Interesting, though, that only they mention this?
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Yes, it is interesting. I looked through other papers’ website and other news agencies and the last BBC reference was on 17, January and there was no mention of Scotland. The article was just about price.
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